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West Seattle Helpline celebrates 25 years, chooses new executive director

Much to celebrate tonight at the West Seattle Helpline Founders’ Day Dinner. In honor of the emergency-assistance agency’s 25th anniversary, founders, supporters, and current leaders gathered for dinner at Salty’s on Alki (WSB sponsor) – among them, Kate Stannard, just chosen as WS Helpline’s ninth executive director, who paused for a photo with board president Brooks Riendl:

A thumbnail history of the Helpline notes that its inspiration started with the late Queen Anne Thriftway owner Dick Rhodes starting the Queen Anne Helpline in the 1980s, and wanting to do something similar in West Seattle when he opened Admiral Thriftway a few years later. The three organizers of the first planning meeting – Maureen Hersholt, Gregg Hersholt, and Phil Talmadge – were among the 20-plus guests at tonight’s dinner.

P.S. Here’s how you can help the Helpline and its thousands of clients – buy tickets to its ultra-popular, ultra-tasty fundraiser Taste of West Seattle, coming up May 15th.

congrats to West Seattle Helpline for providing much needed assistance for 25 years. Kudos also to Maureen and Gregg; nice to see former classmates from Bing Crosby’s alma mater on the banks of the lovely Spokane River doing such great work in our community.

(WSB photos by Patrick Sand) A crew working for the state Department of Natural Resources is back out on West Seattle beaches this week, cleaning up creosote - a toxic threat you might not even recognize as you walk along beaches strewn with old pilings containing literally tons of the substance lon...